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Animal Behaviour > Parental Care > Flashcards

Parental Care Flashcards

1
Q

Threats to offspring (7)

A 
Predation
Hypoxia
Temperature
Food shortages
Parasites
Pathogens
Desiccation
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2
Q

Why is parental care useful to parents?

A

Improves their reproductive fitness and so increases gene propogation

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3
Q

Physiological basis of parental care in birds?

A

Seems genetic, denoting neural circuitry: nest building, feeding mechanisms very specific

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4
Q

Forms of care? (7)

A 
Provisioning of gametes
Oviposition site selection
Nest building/burrowing
Egg/offspring attendance
Egg/offspring brooding
Food provisioning
Care after nutritional independence
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5
Q

Provisioning of gametes?

A

Providing energy/nutrients to the egg

May cover with defensive secretions

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6
Q

Egg/offspring attendance?

A

Post-fertilisation care, it is the most common form

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7
Q

Egg/offspring brooding?

A

Reduced cost of care compared to attendance as it allows food location and predator avoidance

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8
Q

Food provisioning? (4 forms)

A

Indirect - offspring find food themselves, directed by parents
Direct via regurgitation
Direct via provision of actual food
Specialised food source from parent e.g. milk, matriphagy

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9
Q

Care after nutritional independence?

A

Bewick’s swan - help offspring compete for food

Often in longer-lived vertebrates

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10
Q

Costs of parental care? (4)

A

Increased predation risk
Physiological costs e.g. body mass loss
Energy expensive
Food loss

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11
Q

Divisions of care?

A

Maternal
Paternal
Bi-parental

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12
Q

Division of care in birds?

A

90% bi
8% maternal
2% paternal

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13
Q

Why do birds show parental care?

A

Altricial young

Few sex-specific adaptations i.e. both build nests, both incubate and feed

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14
Q

Evidence for ancestral paternal care in birds?

A

Fossil record - therapod dinosaurs have similar clutch volume:adult body mass ratio to modern paternal birds
Primitive birds e.g. ratitites show paternal care

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15
Q

Why might paternal care evolve in birds?

A

Females incur greater energetic costs producing large eggs and so males must provide care
=cost of care and of large eggs
Egg protection = females attracted to defended territories

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16
Q

Forms of care in mammals? (3)

A

Always maternal, sometimes bi
Monotremes = egg incubation in pouches where milk seeps in
Marsupials = pouch
Placentals = most common

17
Q

Evolution of care in mammals?

A

Maternal = ancestral

Bi-parental has evolved 9 times, lost 3

18
Q

Care in fish?

A

Only about 30% of species, some bi, more paternal than maternal

19
Q

Fish care mechanisms? (4)

A

Hiding eggs
Nest building
Egg and fry protection
Fanning for nest oxygenation

20
Q

How many times has male-only care evolved in fish?

A

22 times, in lineages with external fertilisation

21
Q

What groups show care?

A 
Mammals
Birds
Fish
Reptiles
Amphibians
Arthropods
22
Q

Why is it often female care? (2)

A

Parental investment hypothesis

Parental certainty

23
Q

Parental investment hypothesis?

A

Sex that invests less in gametes will invest less after mating

24
Q

Why do (externally fertilising) fish show parental care?

A

Desertion opportunity

Association

25
Q

Desertion opportunity in fish?

A

Lower in externally fertilising species - females can supposedly leave first. This is not well supported though as there is simultaneous gamete release i.e. males and females at the same time

26
Q

Association in fish?

A

Best explanation for paternal care: embryo association preadapts a sex for care e.g. if laid in male territory, males more likely to care

27
Q

Paternal certainty mechanisms in bluegill sunfish?

A

Sneaker male phenotypes - mimic a female to enter a males territory and fertilise eggs there.
Sneaker male proximity to male territory reduces level of paternal care

28
Q

Why is maternal care common in seed-eating birds?

A

Abundance of food - one parent is sufficient to provide for their offspring

29
Q

Why is bi-parental care adopted? (2)

A

When offspring survival is limited e.g. poor environment/predation
Also linked to sexual selection - highest when selection is low

30
Q

Adoption benefits? (4)

A

Gain parental experience
Low costs if already raising many children
Dilution effects for children
High cost to mistakes e.g. may accidentally ignore own offspring

31
Q

Brood parasitism? (2 mechanisms)

A

Forced adoption e.g. cuckoos
Obligate - parasite completely dependent on raising offspring this way
Facultative - can raise offspring independently too

32
Q

Oviposition site selection?

A

Choosing egg sites for best survival chances e.g. bird nests, spawning sites of fish

Animal Behaviour (16 decks)

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